REPORT

on
AUTOMATIC WASTE SEGREGATOR MACHINE

BE - Mechanical Engineering

SUBMITTED BY
Manas Karnik (39)
Kalpesh Maurya (52)
Pranav Mody (57)
Rounak Munoyat (60)

Guided By
Mr. Mahendra Shelar
Department of Mechanical Engineering

AY 2019-2020
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Thakur College of Engineering and Technology

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TABLE OF CONTENTS: -

Sr.No. Topic Page no

1 Abstract 1

2 Problem Definition 1

3 Literature Review 2

4 Methodology 7

5 Tools Used 7

6 Expected Outcomes 10

7 Workplan 10

8 References 10

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1. ABSTRACT: -
Due to increase in population the amount of waste generated by the
country every day is increasing day by day. According to a report by ‘INDIA TODAY’
India is generating around 1.20 lakh metric tons of solid waste every day. Out of which
around 15000 metric tons are disposed in open area which causes a lot of pollution. Out
of the total waste collected only 20 % of the waste is treated and all the 80% of the waste
is directly dumped into landfill which contains all types of waste in it i.e. organic,
inorganic, metals, non-metals, plastics, decomposable, non-decomposable. Since the non-
decomposable and metallic non-metallic waste stay there for ages and causes the space to
be occupied forever thus the amount of space would decrease for other waste and the
waste gets piled up causing many pollution problems. Thus, to reduce this improper
utilization of landfill space we have designed an efficient way to segregate composable
and decomposable waste also metals, non-metals, plastics, paper, etc. by using sensors
which will detect the type of waste and will send it to their respected processing center.
For example, induction sorter detects the metals and especially the ferrous one’s.

2. INTRODUCTION & PROBLEM DEFINITION: -

Urban India generates around 60 to 70 million of tons of solid waste every
year which has to be sent to different segregation plants for segregation of waste but out
of which only 20% is processed and rest is unable to be processed. So as per our project
this waste can be easily segregated if the segregation is done while collection of waste or
at source. It is a very cost effective and efficient machine which can segregate metals,
non-metals, plastics, organic, inorganic, dry and wet waste. The method used to deposit
the waste is directly thrown into the landfill unplanned. The benefit of segregating the
waste would then increase the possibility of recycling of more amount of waste which can
be sent again to the market and the space utilization of the landfill would result in less
pollution and reduce unnecessary harm from waste to humans’ animals and nature. This
would decrease the cost of maintain segregation plants (large scale) and also harm caused
to workers working in the plant. The cost of sending waste to segregation plant and then
sending it to the processing unit would decrease since the waste has directly been
segregated at source and then sent to processing unit directly.
Automated waste sorting is expensive, and not developed enough to use at
the moment. The development of this method is essential for proper waste segregation to
take place. Workers who segregate it manually need to rely on their vision and experience
with different materials. Machines, on the other hand, rely on data and the properties of
the material, making them more efficient as compared to manual segregation. A concern
that arises is that there will be a loss in employment opportunities for people who relied
on waste segregation for their livelihood. However, the installation of these sensors and
their operation requires people, and thus creates more jobs. Also, due to the cost of these
sensors, they cannot be installed everywhere and will not cost many people their jobs.
Those that do lose them can

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operate the equipment or help in its installation. Therefore, development of these sensors,
and making them efficient and high-quality, is essential and will help in the long run,
making recycling a more prominent industry and help the environment simultaneously.

3. LITERATURE REVIEW: -
(1) Arduino based automated waste segregator machine (by Dr.Arunkumar Balakrishnan
Iyer): -
Abstract - The rapid growth in the population has also led to the surge in the volume of
waste being generated on a daily basis. This increase in the generation of waste due to
continuous growth in the urbanization and industrialization has become a severe problem
for the local and the national government. It is also posing a serious problem for the local
authorities to manage the wastes being dumped everywhere as landfill. To ensure the
minimal risk to the environment and human health, it is necessary to take meticulous
measures when segregating and transporting waste. Segregation of waste in a proper
manner brings to the limelight actual economic value of the waste. The traditional method
used for segregating of waste in India is through rag pickers which are time-consuming
and can have adverse effects on the health of the people who are exposed to such wastes.
Here we propose the use of an Auto Waste Segregator (AWS) which is cheap and also an
easy to use solution for segregation of household waste. It is designed to segregate the
waste into three categories viz. metallic, dry and wet waste. The system makes use of
moisture sensor for the segregation of wet and dry waste and inductive proximity sensor
for the detection of metallic waste and an LCD display for displaying the result of
segregation. It is evident from experimental reports that segregation of waste using AWS
has been successful.
Conclusion - Implementation of this system at a local level like societies, educational
institutes, etc. can reduce the burden on the local authorities. The automatic waste
segregator is one small step towards building an efficient and economic waste collection
system with a minimum amount of human intervention and also no hazard to human life.
Using a conveyor belt makes the system far more accurate, cost-effective and also easier
to install and use at a domestic level. Segregating all these wastes at a domestic level will
also be time-saving. While implementing our system we came across many problems like
the sensing range of inductive proximity sensor, the accuracy of the moisture sensor,
adjusting the range of IR sensors and some more, but using some modifications we tried
the make the system as reliable as possible but not completely perfect.
(2) Microcontroller Based Automatic Waste Segregator (by Shariq Mohammed Shaikh): -
Abstract - The rising population of India poses serious threats with regard to the
availability of living space, utilization of natural resources and raw materials, education
and employment. But another serious peril that follows is the escalating amount of waste
generated each minute by an individual. An astounding 0.1 million

tons of waste is generated each day in India. Sadly, only 5% of this colossal amount of
waste is recycled. One possible solution for this problem could be segregating the waste
at the disposal level itself. In India, the collection, transportation and disposal of MSW
are unscientific and chaotic. Uncontrolled dumping of waste on outskirts of towns and
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cities has created overflowing landfills which are not only impossible to reclaim because
of the haphazard manner of dumping but also has serious environmental implication in
terms of ground water pollution and contribution to Global warming. This has found to
reduce the average life span of the manual segregators. Developing a mechanized system
to help save the lives of many and making the world a cleaner and a greener place is the
noble objective of our project. We have thus proposed an automatic waste segregator that
aims at segregating the waste at the disposal level itself. It is designed to sort the waste
into 3 major categories, namely metallic, wet and dry, thereby making waste management
more effective. To set the ball rolling, we have proposed this project to give back to our
nation, making our India a “Swachh Bharath‟.
Conclusion – The waste segregator as the name suggests, segregates the waste into three
major classes: dry, wet, metallic. The permanent magnets placed within the metallic bin
further sorts ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The inlet section is provided with open and
close mechanism to regulate the flow of waste on to the conveyor. Inductive proximity
sensor is used to detect the metallic waste. The signal from the proximity sensor initiates
the push mechanism to discard the metallic waste. A blower mechanism is used to
segregate dry and wet waste. The timing and movement of the conveyor belt is controlled
by 8051 microcontrollers. Continuous and unnecessary operation of any particular section
is thus avoided.
(3) Automatic Waste Segregator and Monitoring System (by Swathi Krishna): -
Abstract - Rapid increase in population has led to improper waste management in metro
cities and urban areas which has resulted in spreading of diseases. It is estimated that 2.02
billion tons of municipal solid waste was generated universally in 2006. The segregation,
transport, handling and disposal of waste must be managed properly to minimize the risks
to the public, and the environment. An efficient method to dispose the waste has been
designed in our project, “automatic waste segregator and monitoring system”. This paper
proposes an automatic waste segregator (AWS) which is a cheap, easy to use solution for
a segregation system at households, so that the wastes can be sent directly for processing.
Automatic waste segregator is designed to sort the waste into three main categories
namely; metallic, organic and plastic, thereby making the waste management more
effective. Ultrasonic sensors are added for monitoring waste collection process. The
sensors would be placed in all the garbage bins. When the garbage reaches the level of the
sensor, then the indication will be given to a microcontroller. The microcontroller will
give indication to the driver of garbage collection truck by sending SMS using GSM
technology.
Conclusion - The waste segregator as the name suggests, segregates the waste into three
major classes: plastic, organic, metallic. The proposed system would be able to monitor
the solid waste collection process and management of the overall collection

process. The inlet section is provided with open and close mechanism to regulate the flow
of waste on to the conveyor. Inductive proximity sensor is used to detect the metallic
waste. A blower mechanism is used to segregate dry and wet waste. The timing and
movement of the conveyor belt is controlled by Arduino Uno. Continuous and
unnecessary operation of any particular section is thus avoided.

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(4) Automated Waste Segregator (by Ashwini Awale): -
Abstract - One of the main concerns with our environment has been solid waste
management which in addition to disturbing the balance of environment also has adverse
effect on health of the society. Effective waste management is one of the major problems
of the present era. The segregation, handling, transportation and disposal of waste are to
be properly managed so as to minimize the risk to the environment. The economic value
of waste is best realized when it segregated. The traditional way of manually segregating
the waste utilizes more human effort, time and cost. This work proposes An Economic
Automated Waste Segregator (AWS) which is cheap and easy to use solution for a
segregation system at households, so that it can be sent directly for processing. It is
designed to sort the refuse into metallic waste, wet waste, dry waste, plastic waste.
Conclusion - Automatic Waste Segregator has been successfully implemented for the
segregation of waste into metallic, dry and wet waste at a domestic level. The system can
segregate only one type of waste at a time with an assigned priority for metal, wet, dry
and glass waste. The experiment has been conducted for wet, dry, glass and metallic
wastes. It is found that the change of capacitive count value is greater for wet waste and
very less for dry waste. Other objects like glass and wood have intermediate relative
dielectric constant and thus are detected as dry waste. Experimental result shows that the
waste has been successfully segregated into glass, metallic, wet and dry using the
Automatic Waste Segregator.
(5) Automated Waste Segregator (by Amrutha Chandramohan): -
Abstract - Rapid increase in volume and types of solid and hazardous waste as a result of
continuous economic growth, urbanization and industrialization, is becoming a
burgeoning problem for national and local governments to ensure effective and
sustainable management of waste. It is estimated that in 2006 the total amount of
municipal solid waste generated globally reached 2.02 billion tones, representing a 7%
annual increase since 2003 (Global Waste Management Market Report 2007). The
segregation, handling, transport and disposal of waste are to be properly managed so as to
minimize the risks to the health and safety of patients, the public, and the environment.
The economic value of waste is best realized when it is segregated. Currently there is no
such system of segregation of dry, wet and metallic wastes at a household level. This
paper proposes an Automated Waste Segregator (AWS) which is a cheap, easy to use
solution for a segregation system at households, so that it can be sent directly for
processing. It is designed to sort the refuse into metallic waste, wet waste and dry waste.
The AWS employs parallel resonant impedance sensing mechanism to identify metallic
items, and capacitive sensors to distinguish between wet and dry waste. Experimental
results show that the

segregation of waste into metallic, wet and dry waste has been successfully implemented
using the AWS.
Conclusion - Automated Waste Segregator has been successfully implemented for the
segregation of waste into metallic, dry and wet waste at a domestic level. However, it
cannot segregate ceramic into dry waste because of its higher relative dielectric constant
when compared to other dry wastes. Noise can be eliminated in the sensing module to

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increase accuracy and overall efficiency. The system can segregate only one type of waste
at a time with an assigned priority for metal, wet and dry waste. Thus, improvements can
be made to segregate mixed type of waste by the use of buffer spaces. Since, the time for
sensing metal objects is low the entire sensing module can be placed along a single
platform where the object is stable to ensure better result.

4. METHODOLOGY: -
1. The ultrasonic sensor gives the pulse to the microcontroller indicating no waste on
conveyer belt.
2. The microcontroller will then start feeding the required amount of waste on the
conveyer belt and also provide the necessary delay for the next feed.
3. Then the waste will be passed through the inductive type proximity sensor via the
conveyer belt which will be running on the DC motor.
4. The sensor would then detect presence of any metal.
5. If it detects the metal it will start the electromagnet and if it will not detect any
presence of metal it will stop the electromagnet.
6. Electromagnet will produce a magnetic field which will attract all the metallic
waste present and all the other waste is then sent ahead via conveyer belt.
7. The collected metallic waste will then be sent into the high-power pneumatic
piston where it will be compressed.
8. The rest of the waste will be sent through the air compressor which acts like a
blower and due to the high air pressure on the waste the dry waste like paper
plastic bottles and plastic bags etc. will then get segregated from the waste and
wet waste would stick to the conveyer belt.
9. Thus, segregating the wet and dry waste.
10. The dry waste will then get compressed by the pneumatic high-power piston.
11. This segregated waste can now be sent for recycling or processing or other waste
can then be dumped into landfills.

5. TOOLS USED: -
Existing system in large scale segregation units are:
1. Drum screens.
2. Eddy current separators.
3. Induction sorting.
4. Near infrared sensors.
5. X-ray technology. And
6. Manual sorting.

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DRUM SCREENS: drum screen also known as rotary screen, is a commonly used
technique for sorting waste based on size it has a porous screen and a drum. The drum is
rotated with the waste in it which causes the formation of physical size of the waste and at
the other side of the drum there is the porous screen which lets the small sized waste to
pass through and the bigger sized waste stays in the drum thus segregating the waste.
This method is used generally in mineral and solid waste management.
EDDY CURRENT SEPARATORS: this method is used to segregate non-ferrous material
from the waste. It uses powerful magnetic field to generate eddy currents in the non-
ferrous material and thus segregating from the waste. This method cannot be used while
presence of ferrous material as it causes heating of ferrous metal until it becomes red hot
which would cause damage to the separator. Therefore, it can only be used after
segregation of ferrous metals and not before it. It is applied to the conveyer

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belt carrying the thin layer of mix waste. It contains a eddy current rotor at end of belt due
to which causes the non-ferrous metal to blow away from the belt and the thin layer
remains intact on the belt and other metal simply fall way at the end of the belt.
INDUCTION SORTING: This method is used to segregate all the ferrous metal from the
solid waste and then it is fed to the eddy current separator the electrical conductors
detects the presence of metals on the conveyer belt and sends signal to the computer
indicating the presence of metal and thus segregation of metals becomes possible.
NEAR INFRARED SENSORS: It is based on the principle that when a material is
illuminated it reflects light in near infrared wavelength spectrum. This wavelength is
caught and thus the material is identified and segregated.
X-RAY TECHNOLOGY: The x-rays are used to identify the material based on the
density of it and thus segregating it.
MANUAL SORTING: Segregating units have human workers which identify the
materials present in the waste by visual inspection and thus sorting or segregating the
waste.
The system used for segregating waste in the given project are:
1. Ultrasonic sensor.
2. Inductive type proximity sensor.
3. Segregation using electromagnet.
4. Pneumatic high-power piston.
5. Air compressor as blower.
6. Microcontroller for monitoring and control.
ULTRASONIC SENSOR: This sensor is used to sense the incoming of waste on the
conveyer belt and also to give pulse signal to the monitoring and control unit to stop the
incoming of waste. It is also used to check if the collection bin is full or not.
INDUCTIVE TYPE PROXIMITY SENSOR: This sensor works on the principle of eddy
current separator but is very cheap. It is used to identify the presence of the metals. It
gives a signal to the monitoring unit of logic level 0 when presence of metal is detected
and gives a signal of logic level 1 when metal is not present.
SEGREGATION USING ELECTROMAGNET: The electromagnet is used to generate a
magnetic field when metals are detected due to which the metals get attracted to it and
thus, it gets segregated from the waste.
PNEUMATIC HIGH-POWER PISTONS: These are used to compress the compressible
waste like paper plastic bottles, tetra pack, soft drink cans, etc. so that it occupies less
space.
AIR COMPRESSOR AS BLOWER: This is used to segregate light weighted materials
from heavy materials like paper, plastic bags, plastic bottle, etc. and thus also used to
segregate dry and wet waste.
MICROCONTROLLER FOR MONITORING AND CONTROL: This is used to control
and monitor the entire process feed waste to the conveyer belt when ultrasonic sensor
gives the pulse. It is also used to stop the process or start the process as per the amount of
waste in collection bin.

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6. EXPECTED OUTCOMES: -
1. All the metallic materials in the waste should get segregated.
2. All the dry waste should get segregated.
3. The dry and metallic waste should get compressed.
4. The ultrasonic sensor should detect waste properly.
5. Waste separation technology is a breakthrough in waste recycling industry,
because it can enable us to fully recycle the municipal waste.
6. It does no harm to the environment. It can recycle harmful waste like waste
battery, avoiding water and soil pollution.
7. Using the automatic sorting machine can avoid the secondary pollution caused by
burning and land filling.
8. It can achieve the cyclic utilization of waste. Useful materials obtained after
processing of waste can be extracted and used.
a. Plastic waste can be converted into oil by using waste plastic pyrolysis
plant.
b. The sorted organic waste is good material to make natural fertilizers.
c. Soil and waste bricks in waste can be utilized in the making of bricks.

7. WORKPLAN: -
1. Learn more about all the systems and their specifications, prices, and proper
working.
2. Find a way to segregate all the non-metallic waste like glass, wood, etc.
3. Gather all the required components with necessary specification which is suitable
and cost efficient for the system.
4. Test the working of all the systems individually and try to improve the efficiency
which will be obtained as an outcome.

5. Combine the systems together and see if it provides the required output with
improvised efficiency.

8. REFERENCES: -
1. Research paper on automatic waste segregator and monitoring system by Aleena
V.J. , Kavya Balakrishnan, Rosmi T.B., Swathy Krishna K.J., Sreejith S, T.D
Subha.
2. Bajaj JS. Urban Solid Waste Management in India. New Delhi: Planning
Commission Government of India; 1995.
3. Daniel Hoornweg, et al. What a Waste: A Global Review of Solid Waste
Management. Washington, DC: Urban Development & Local Government Unit
World Bank, No.15; Mar 2012.
4. Shuchi Gupta, Krishna Mohan, Raj Kumar Prasad, et al. Solid Waste Management
In India: Options and Opportunities. In Resource, Conservation and Opportunities.
Nov 1996; 24(2): 137p.

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5. Pushpa MK, et al. Microcontroller Based Automatic Waste Segregator.
International Journal of Innovative Research in Electrical, Electronics,
Instrumentation and Control Engineering (IJIREEICE). May 2015.
6. Nishigandha Kothari,” Waste to Wealth”, NSWAI, New Delhi, Jul. 2013
7. Claudine Capel, “INNOVATIONS IN WASTE”, Waste-management-world,
Volume 11, Issue 2, Mar 2010.
8. Claudine Capel, “WASTE SORTING - A LOOK AT THE SEPARATION AND
SORTING TECHNIQUES IN TODAY’S EUROPEAN MARKET”, Waste-
management-world, Volume 9, Issue 4, Jul 2008.

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Rounak Munoyat (60) Manas Karnik (39)
BE-Mech-A BE-Mech-A

Kalpesh Maurya (52) Pranav Mody (57)

BE-Mech-A BE-Mech-A

Mr.Mahendra Shelar
Mechanical Department

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